Literacy and Development: Ethnographic Perspectives

Description

Literacy and Development is a collection of case-studies of literacy projects from around the world. The contributors present their in-depth studies of everyday uses and meanings of literacy and of the literacy programmes that have been developed to enhance them. Arguing that ethnographic research can and should inform literacy policy in developing countries, the book extends current theory and itself contributes to policy making and programme building. A large cross-section of society is covered, with chapters on Women's literacy in Pakistan, Ghana, and rural Mali, literacy in an Iranian village and an 'Older Peoples' Literacy Project This international collection includes case studies from: Peru, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, Mali, Nepal, Iran, Eritrea, Ghana.

Brian Street is Professor of Language in Education at King's College, London, and Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include Literacy in Theory and Practice, Cross-cultural Approaches to Literacy, and Social Literacies.

..."an excellent addition to the study of literacy practices by interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of ethnography and linguistics. Volumes such as this one should be strongly recommended reading in comparative education courses for alternate approaches...The authors, especially the series editor and the volume editor, have further bridged a long-standing practical research and practical concern in looking at both industrialized and developing country literacy issues as part of the same fabric."
-Comparative Education Review May 2002
""Literacy and Development is a collection of ethnographic case studies conducted in India, Namibia, Eritrea, Peruvian Amazonia, Ghana, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan. With the aim of bridging the divide between literacy in theory and in practice, the researchers have explored the processes of literacy practice in these developing countries. They are not only well aware of the status quo but also committed to social transformation wherein their engagement is rooted.."
-"Comparative Education, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2002